Robert MacIntyre remembers watching the 2013 Wimbledon final with every shot on the line, as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray (who MacIntyre calls Scotland's “sporting icon”) battled back and forth on the famous Centre Court grass for the world's entertainment.
But unlike his loss to Federer at Wimbledon in 2012, Murray prevailed over Djokovic, defeating the world's top player who currently has 24 Grand Slam titles.
So when Murray prevailed in the third set, becoming the first Briton to win Wimbledon since 1936 and ending a 77-year title drought, McIntyre and his father cheered. Maybe they didn’t celebrate as much as they did after this year’s RBC Canadian Open — nothing could compare to the celebration after his Scottish Open triumph — but the McIntyres felt a strong sense of national pride, and rightly so. A Scotsman had achieved international glory, doing something that had never been done before World War II.
Now, 11 years on from that incredible win, MacIntyre is playing in Wednesday's pro-am with Murray ahead of this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, just 23 miles from Wimbledon.
The two Scottish stars chatted all day, with McIntyre asking Murray questions about competitiveness, desire and his three Grand Slam titles – titles that McIntyre hopes to win one day.
“Obviously, the mechanisms are completely different,” McIntyre said.
“But we're all individuals. We have our own team. This is the closest thing we have to the sport of golf.”
Indeed, tennis and golf have a lot in common. Both sports have four major championships; both are individual sports that require hitting a ball with a club or racket; and both are extremely stressful.
“I was very nervous,” Murray admitted.
“I couldn't really feel my arms and legs. I hadn't really hit any balls on the range before. Yeah, I felt it. But it's getting better. It's getting better as the tournament goes on.”
Murray, who has a handicap of 7, hopes to eventually become a scratch player. But now that he has retired from professional tennis, that goal has suddenly become more attainable. He now has more time to practice, especially those shots between 50 and 80 yards that he calls “very difficult.”
“Probably a few years,” Murray replied when asked how long it would take to reach a zero handicap index.
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“I practice more than the average person. I hit some balls when I was younger, and if I can get the right lessons and practice the right things, then yeah, I think I'll have a chance to do it in a few years. You know what a huge difference those lessons make? That's the biggest thing for me. I used to go to the driving range and hit a lot of balls, and I could hit some good shots. But if there's a fundamental flaw in your swing or your form, it doesn't matter how many balls you hit on the driving range. So taking lessons and practicing those things helps.”
Although Murray won't admit it, he learned a lot from watching MacIntyre navigate Wentworth. Anyone who watches a player of that caliber learns a lot.
Interestingly, just like McIntyre did at the Canadian Open, Murray also asked his father to play for him on Wednesday. But Murray Sr. was so enamored with McIntyre's skills that he forgot to hand the clubs to his son several times. Murray later said that his father would most likely be “fired” after his poor performance, which is very different from what the McIntyre family experienced in early June.
Nonetheless, the respect these two Scots have for each other is remarkable and something that should make all of Scotland proud.
“If I can achieve half of what he has done athletically, I’ll be overachieving, to be honest with you,” McIntyre said of Murray.
“When a Scot does so well, the whole of Scotland gets behind him. I'm no different. When he won Wimbledon, I watched every shot. I wish I had half the career he had in my sport. But it takes a lot of hard work.”
Jack Milko is SB Nation's Playing Through golf columnist. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @JackMilco Same here.
